World Cup Betting

25 June 2014

Stuart Newman

The latest odds on Wednesday's game.

England’s not-so-glorious exit from the World Cup was confirmed yesterday evening, with their bore 0-0 draw with Costa Rica in the Brazilian sunshine making us feel like we’d stayed up for another 11pm kick-off.

With Groups A, B, C, and D now done and dusted, the attention turns to Groups E and F on Wednesday with knockout stage places still up for grabs. We take a particular look at Group F.

Ecuador vs. France, 21:00

France have arguably been the best side at World Cup 2014 so far, having eased to victories against both Honduras and Switzerland while playing some scintillating football in the process.

With eight goals to their name in the tournament already, it’s clear that France have no problem finding their way to goal and are 13/2 with SkyBet to find the net four or more times on Wednesday.

Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema has played a part in five of those eight goals so far, scoring three and grabbing two assists, as he looks to mount a charge for the Golden Boot. Benzema will no doubt revel in playing against Ecuador’s shaky back line and SkyBet have him at 4/1 to score a brace and 18/1 to net a hat-trick.

Ecuador, though, have proved that they’re a force to be reckoned with in Brazil, with their physical, direct style of play winning plaudits.

Though they won’t be able to beat France on the floor, they hold an aerial advantage over their opponents and aren’t afraid to use it.

With that in mind, Ecuador will likely play for corners to push their big players forward, making SkyBet’s corner market rather useful – over 10 Ecuador corners at 40/1 certainly looks worth a flutter.

Honduras vs. Switzerland, 21:00

The Swiss fell to a humbling 5-2 defeat at the hands of France on Friday, but they now need their European counterparts to do them a favour in their bid to progress.

If the French beat Ecuador, then Switzerland need a heavy victory against Honduras to go through and are 4/9 with SkyBet to get the job done in Manaus.

However, Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side have their inferior goal difference to worry about before they celebrate going through and need to hunt for goals on Wednesday.

They’ll be hoping that the Honduras flood gates open and if they score four or more goals on Wednesday you could be reaping the benefits of SkyBet’s 5/1 odds.

Standing in their way are Honduras, who adopt a, let’s say, interesting style of play. With their fouling tactics once again likely to be on show, SkyBet’s odds of 2/5 on Honduras being the first team to be handed a yellow card are looking a sure thing.

Carlos Costly had the honour of scoring his nation’s first World Cup goals since 1982 against Ecuador, causing pandemonium amongst their fans. Costly will be leading the line once again against Switzerland and is good value at 10/1 to net the opening goal.

England heading out of the World Cup is far from a good thing, but being able to enjoy the tournament as a neutral is a consolation of sorts. We’re being treated to four big matches with massive knockout-stage implications on Wednesday, and if you’ve called them right, it makes it that little bit more exciting.

Head to SkyBet.com to place your bets. Remember, each flutter benefits Colchester United directly!